Not too long ago the first reports came out about the Project Morpheus system from Sony, and the gaming community was largely excited about it, especially the community that favored the Sony PlayStation 4 approach to gaming. It was likely to put a real spark under PS4 gaming, and that meant big things indeed. But now an even bigger piece of news has emerged around indie title “Cult County” that should put some extra joy in the field.

The reports note—direct from “Cult County” studio Renegade Kid's co-founder Jools Watsham—that, should “Cult County” realize its minimum funding goal, it would be given support for the Project Morpheus system. Given that the project has 24 days to go, and has yet to reach five percent of its total goal—it's currently sitting at $26,863 out of a target $580,000—it's not exactly looking good. But the idea serves as a noteworthy point that should be mentioned.

This was a good point. Not only has “Cult County” put some exciting principles of its own in play—particularly the first-person romp through horror country, not exactly the kind of thing we see much of lately—but it also posed an exciting notion: what if more games took advantage of hardware developments like this? We all know from things like the Wii U and the like that games sell hardware. Quite a few folks were a bit concerned when the Oculus Rift first started showing up, saying, yeah, that's great and all, but can I play any games on it? With “Cult County,” however, it's not only answering the question of whether or not there will be games, but also giving the platform a reason to emerge.

This underscores one critical point: the hardware makers need to be working closely with the software makers. While “Cult County” may never raise its half-million plus, it has an excellent chance of doing so thanks to the connection to Project Morpheus. It's also a great way to build interest in Project Morpheus as a whole, and that gives Sony—and other designers—an edge. The idea that people would pre-order devices for a platform that may never be usable is outlandish. The idea that people would pre-order devices with plenty of games waiting in the wings is likely.

So the question is, who's bootstrapping who here? Is “Cult County” using Project Morpheus to get ahead? Or is Project Morpheus getting a boost from “Cult County”? Either is valid, really, and shows the potential of a new kind of symbiotic relationship where hardware and software work together to drive each others' sales. But the end result should still be a good one for gamers: lots of new devices with plenty of games to play.

Not too long ago the first reports came out about the Project Morpheus system from Sony, and the gaming community was largely excited about it, especially the community that favored the Sony PlayStation 4 approach to gaming. It was likely to put a real spark under PS4 gaming, and that meant big things indeed. But now an even bigger piece of news has emerged around indie title “Cult County” that should put some extra joy in the field.

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The reports note—direct from “Cult County” studio Renegade Kid's co-founder Jools Watsham—that, should “Cult County” realize its minimum funding goal, it would be given support for the Project Morpheus system. Given that the project has 24 days to go, and has yet to reach five percent of its total goal—it's currently sitting at \$26,863 out of a target \$580,000—it's not exactly looking good. But the idea serves as a noteworthy point that should be mentioned.

\n

\n

This was a good point. Not only has “Cult County” put some exciting principles of its own in play—particularly the first-person romp through horror country, not exactly the kind of thing we see much of lately—but it also posed an exciting notion: what if more games took advantage of hardware developments like this? We all know from things like the Wii U and the like that games sell hardware. Quite a few folks were a bit concerned when the Oculus Rift first started showing up, saying, yeah, that's great and all, but can I play any games on it? With “Cult County,” however, it's not only answering the question of whether or not there will be games, but also giving the platform a reason to emerge.

\n

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This underscores one critical point: the hardware makers need to be working closely with the software makers. While “Cult County” may never raise its half-million plus, it has an excellent chance of doing so thanks to the connection to Project Morpheus. It's also a great way to build interest in Project Morpheus as a whole, and that gives Sony—and other designers—an edge. The idea that people would pre-order devices for a platform that may never be usable is outlandish. The idea that people would pre-order devices with plenty of games waiting in the wings is likely.

\n

\n

So the question is, who's bootstrapping who here? Is “Cult County” using Project Morpheus to get ahead? Or is Project Morpheus getting a boost from “Cult County”? Either is valid, really, and shows the potential of a new kind of symbiotic relationship where hardware and software work together to drive each others' sales. But the end result should still be a good one for gamers: lots of new devices with plenty of games to play.